With big jump in employment, Boston construction industry booming once more

Updated Nov 21, 2013

After seeing Greater Boston construction jobs fall by 20 percent during the recession, things are finally looking up again for the city’s industry after a big jump in employment in the past year.

The Boston metro area added 8,700 construction jobs between August 2012 and August 2013, according to a report from The Boston Globe. That’s more than the 8,200 added by the also-booming Houston, and only slightly less than the 8,900 added in Los Angeles during the same period.

The paper reports that the boom is being driven by the city’s technology, biotechnology and medical industries as well as pent-up demand for housing and improved credit conditions. Plus, several projects delayed by the recession have restarted and many more new projects, including several from the city’s numerous colleges and universities, have begun.

The James F. Stearns Co., located just outside of Boston in Pembroke, doubled its workforce in the past year to 160 workers, while Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction increased its workforce by a third to 800 employees, The Globe reported.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe by clicking here.